Process for producing photochromic optical articles

Abstract

Provided is a method for producing a photochromic optical article having a photochromic coating layer exhibiting photochromism formed on an optical base such as a plastic lens which has good optical characteristics and photochromic characteristics, and also has good adhesion between the base and the photochromic layer. The method enables to easily produce such a photochromic optical article by improving wettability of a photochromic coating agent for a primer. In this method, the photochromic optical article is produced by forming a primer layer on the optical base surface by coating a primer comprising an emulsion which has a colloidally dispersed urethane resin in a dispersion medium, and then forming on the primer layer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a process for producing optical articles such as a photochromic plastic lens or the like.TECHNICAL BACKGROUND[0002]A photochromic eyeglass has such properties that in the outdoors where lights including ultraviolet ray such as sunlight are irradiated, its lens colors speedily and thereby it functions as a sunglass, while in the interior where such lights are not irradiated, its lens discolors and thereby it functions as a normal eyeglass. The demand of the photochromic eyeglass has been increased in recent years.[0003]Known examples of a process for producing a plastic lens having photochromic properties are a method for impregnating the surface of a lens having no photochromic properties with a photochromic compound (hereinafter referred to impregnating process), a method of coating the surface of a plastic lens with a coating agent which comprises a curable composition having photochromic properties (hereinafter referred to pho...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]According to the production process of the present invention, using an emulsion containing a urethane resin as an adhesive primer, a substrate such as plastic lenses for eyeglasses and a photochromic layer can be properly bonded without deterioration of coating properties in applying a photochromic coating agent. The primer used in the invention is an emulsion type and can make a primer layer by a simple drying method by only removing a dispersion medium. In conventional moisture curable type primers which are cured by a reaction, it is necessary to control the curing conditions before applying a photochromic coating agent, while the primer of the present invention has a merit such that it is unnecessary to control the curing conditions. Moreover, since the dispersing medium used in the emulsion type primer is basically an aqueous type, it is unnecessary in the present invention to cover with a crosslinking film such as a hard coat layer before applying the primer even if using a substrate made from a material having low solvent resistance such as polycarbonate or the like.

[0020]In the case of using the emulsion type primer, the adhesion strength is occasionally lower as compared with using the moisture curable type primer. However, in the case of using a primer made from an emulsion containing a urethane resin having a specific group, high adhesion strength can be obtained, and a substrate and a photochromic layer can be properly bonded with firm adhesion properties so as to resist a severe test, for example, boiling.

[0021]In the case of using a primer made from a emulsion containing a urethane resin having a skeleton derived from polycarbonate, the urethane resin is apt to have a glass transition temperature (Tg) of from 0 to 100° C., and the stress relaxation of a resulting primer layer is high because the urethane resin has Tg in the above range. Furthermore, a photochromic coat layer can be properly bonded without curing at a high temperature in forming the photochromic coat layer. On these account, even when a thick photochromic coat layer having a thickness of from 20 to 50 μm is formed on a thin substrate having a large difference in thickness between the center and the periphery and having a center thickness of lower than 1 mm, excellent optical articles having little distortion caused by deformation can be prepared because deformation of a substrate caused by stress in polymerization shrinkage and deformation in heat curing are not invited.

[0022]Due to the urethane resin having Tg in the above range, the time required to dry a coated primer can be shortened. When the primer layer is dried insufficiently, the wetting properties are tends to be lowered in applying the photochromic coating agent. When the primer layer is wholly covered by spin coating, it is necessary to use a larger amount of the photochromic coating agent, while when the emulsion containing the urethane resin having a skeleton derived from polycarbonate is used, good wetting properties can be obtained even if the drying time is shortened, and thereby it is unnecessary to increase the amount of the photochromic coating agent used.

[0023]Furthermore, the process of the present invention can provide optical articles having not only excellent optical properties and photochromic properties, but also good mechanical properties such as impact resistance or the like.

[0024]In the production process of the present invention, on at least one surface of an optical substrate such as plastic lens substrate or the like (herein, the optical substrate means a substrate having a pair of front and back main surfaces made from an optical material), a primer layer is formed using an emulsion containing a urethane resin, and on the primer layer, a photochromic layer is formed. The primer layer formed using the emulsion containing the urethane resin has good wetting properties to the photochromic coating agent and is capable of enhancing the adhesion between the optical substrate and the photochromic layer.

Problems solved by technology

Therefore, various etching methods for a primer layer (for example, physical etching method such as plasma or corona etching; and chemical etching methods with acid or basic substances) have been conducted, but sufficient effects cannot be obtained.

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